Real Humans of the Rady School of Management MBA Program

In less than 20 years since opening in 2001, the University of California San Diego Rady School of Management has quickly cemented itself as one of the best up-and-coming business schools in California. Regarded as one of the 100 best business schools in the world by The Economist, with an impeccably strong and celebrated faculty, Rady has nurtured an increasingly excelling MBA class.

The Rady School of Business Class of 2019 MBA sported a gaudy median GMAT score of 670 and an undergraduate GPA of 3.21. These students also joined the program having amassed more than five years of professional work experience, on average, with numerous prospective graduates coming from well-known companies like: Intel Corporation, Loreal, Princeton University, and Scripps Health. As well, about 16 percent of students within the class joined the program having already earned either their Ph.D. or an additional Master’s degree.

Considering San Diego’s strong connection to the United States Armed Forces, it isn’t surprising to hear that many students in the Class of 2019 come directly from the U.S. Army, Navy, and Army. The Rady School of Management, along with many of UC San Diego’s additional graduate schools, show a concerted effort to bring in those with military experience, offering MBA fee waivers, as well help from an extensive network of school alumni that continue to work with the U.S. military.

But the Class of 2019, and the Rady School of Management itself, goes much deeper. With a budding entrepreneurial culture, students are coming in from all over the world to help build groundbreaking startup companies. In fact, more than 40 percent of the MBA Class of 2019 comes from outside the United States, utilizing Rady’s numerous startup resources, like the StartR Accelerator program, mystartupXX Accelerator, and the Rady Venture Club, among others.

To get a greater understanding of what it means to be a Rady MBA, and how the school continues to help develop a rich entrepreneurial foundation, we spoke with several current students, including a consultant from Bangalore, a software developer from Kolkata, and a local equine veterinarian hoping to build a “biotech and medical industry consulting firm in for both the human and veterinary market.”

Read on to see what’s in store for these students at Rady and what life after an MBA may look like.

Thoshna Arasappa, Rady MBA Class of 2018

Hometown: Bangalore, India

Pre-MBA Work Experience: I started my career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs. I then transitioned into Management Consulting at Zinnov Management Consulting, working with them for three years prior to coming to Rady.

Why business school? Why now? By virtue of working in strategy consulting for a firm that specialized in engineering services, I was already learning and working on the business aspects of the technology industry. I however, did not have any formal education in business and could see the kind of value my colleagues who did have a master’s in business created at work. It was then that I realized that a MBA was the next eventual step for me to get ahead in my career.

Why Rady? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
I chose to do my MBA at Rady for a number of reasons:

Location Advantage

Being on the West Coast and conveniently entrenched in the center of the world’s blue-green hub, every industry of interest to me is either a stone’s throw away or a quick drive.

Young, startup school

With one of the smallest classes of 60 students, Rady has one of the most eclectic and tightly-knit student communities. Within 12 years, Rady has rolled out more than 150 active startups. This was a huge draw for me.

World class faculty with great research experience and industry connects

Rady is home to Nobel Laureate Harry Markowitz among many other academic jewels.

Last but not the least, Rady is in the beautiful city of La Jolla, with a view of the ocean and the best
seafood delicacies. A complete package, it was too good a deal to turn down.

What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Rady MBA class? I think my experience working across three of the most distinct and dynamic industries, both in India and globally—investment banking, consulting, and real estate—adds a distinct flavor and value to most of our in-class and outdoor discussions.

Fun fact that didn’t get included on your application? I am a National-Level track athlete who has never run beyond two miles.

Post-MBA career interests? Judging from my experience working in the IoT Business team at Cisco, I would like to pivot from consulting and work in product management and strategy after my MBA.

Advice to Current Prospective Applicants

One thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process? I would definitely reach out to ambassadors and current students from the MBA program and learn as much as possible about the culture and value system of the business school. Eventually it is the people and their network that defines your B-school experience.

One thing you would change or do differently? I wish I had made time to do one of the international immersion trips that Rady offers.

Part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it? I think the most arduous part of the application process is, the “wait” to hear back from schools that you’ve applied to. It is a trying time when you can’t really do much from your end. The best thing to do is, prepare yourself for the next phase- interviews. Take time to narrate your story in the most simplistic and compelling fashion.

One thing about Rady that you didn’t expect? One of the greatest myths about Rady is that, by being in such a fantastic location, it is a party school.

Let me give you all a fair warning: this is not entirely true.

Yes, the school has a great social vibe to it, but people here don’t take their ‘business’ lightly. Academics has the same competitive streak as the best B-schools and a focus on accelerating your career through startup initiatives or corporate projects is the common ‘social scene.’

Thing you are most anxious about in your first year? In my first year, I was extremely anxious about getting an internship opportunity in the highly competitive and booming industry of Hi-Tech in California.

Thing you are most excited about in your second year? Now, almost at the end of my second year, I cannot wait to start working in the ever-evolving world of Hi-Tech and build on my industry experience.

Rumpa Giri, Rady Class of 2019

Hometown: Kolkata, India (However, I immigrated to the USA in 2000 and have been living in San Diego since 2004).

Pre-MBA Work Experience: I have been working in software development since 1998. I have been in Healthcare IT Space since 2000. Currently serving as the Chief Technology Officer at Foresee Medical, Inc.

Why business school? Why now? I have been an engineer my whole life, it gives me great pleasure to write software and see it getting used by physicians. In the journey of “What, Why, How, When” I am proficient at the “How and When” part of the software company. Now I am eager to learn the “What and Why” part of the organization. I became interested in 2015 in the business of creating business after seeing our old company get acquired by a bigger corporation. It was fascinating to see how it unfolded.

Why Rady? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend? The Rady School has great faculty and its Lab to Market course sequence was a very attractive proposition to me. Lab to Market provides a playground to test ideas I have. Also, UC San Diego at the heart of the biotech cluster, so being close to my work and home also narrowed down the focus to only this school.

What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Rady MBA class? My experience in building healthcare IT software development teams and building engineering teams in startups from the ground up all the way to a successful product launch and acquisition.

Fun fact that didn’t get included on your application? I am a Taekwondo red belt. Currently paused due to work and school but intend to pick it up next year after graduation.

Post-MBA career interests? Be a successful CTO and to build a social business platform for Indian Artisan/Handicraft.

Advice to Current Prospective Applicants

• Come to a class to speak to current students.
• Sit in a class to observe the great professors in action.
• Speak with graduate admissions for guidance on the current state of your application.
• Come to Rady School hosted admissions events.

One thing you would change or do differently? Apply early and not the last day of application deadline!

Part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it? Nothing comes to mind. The whole experience was awesome!

Greatest highlight so far at Rady?

• The professors are amazing and extremely helpful. The Rady School “family” has been amazing to encourage and foster creative thoughts. Professors are so willing to nurture and curate nascent ideas, giving thoughtful feedback on how to improve the ideas. I feel blessed to be part of Rady School experience.
• Amazing classmates with such diverse backgrounds, so warm, friendly and helpful. It’s great to be in college again!
• Amazing desserts during weekends!

One thing about Rady that you didn’t expect? Cold calling any Rady staff/faculty for help on ideas—and actually getting a response. 🙂

Thing you are most anxious about in your first year?

• Coming back to school after 17 years, I was apprehensive about school cycles etc. And being an international student it was a very new experience to me.
• The quantitative class was hard but great fun; I survived! 🙂

Thing you are most excited about in your first year?

• Learning core components of business such as marketing, micro economics, operations management, finance, and accounting. As an engineer I never dealt with these subjects but I am very interested in learning the breadth of application of these subjects in running a business.
• Now every corner I see a new case study—after the operations management class almost everywhere I am waiting, I begin to analyze the process and throughput!
• Previously I use to solve only engineering problems, but after coming to Rady I feel empowered to give more thoughts to pressing problems around us and how can I make a difference.

Richard Markell, Rady MBA Class of 2019

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA.

Pre-MBA Work Experience: I have a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine University of Missouri, MRCVS from the Royal College of Veterinary Medicine London.

Why business school? Why now? After 32 years in private equine orthopedics and work with the United States Olympic Team, a second hip replacement made practice challenging. I have had years of teaching, legal, pharmaceutical and medical device industry consulting and knew this would be an exciting and challenging second career. In addition, I have had a long relationship with one of the largest not-for-profit  therapeutic riding center for people with disabilities, and I know a business degree will add to the skills I can offer to them  as a volunteer.

Why Rady? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend? San Diego is a hub of biotechnology and medical innovation so contacts and collaboration is central. In addition, UC San Diego and Rady are renowned centers of innovation and startups. I knew the networking resources would be remarkable here. We have access that is incredibly open to the entire university and biotech industry here in San Diego. It is also a great place to live!

What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Rady MBA class? We have a remarkable and diverse class from highly successful engineers, physicians, corporate managers, Navy SEALS and pilots, researchers, entrepreneurs, a non-profit leader, financial managers, international students with vast experience in biotech and even myself as a veterinarian! Each person in our class brings a perspective and wealth of knowledge that expands ones’ learning experience beyond expectations. My approach to problem solving has been transformative interacting with my fellow students. We have a remarkable “team” approach in all our classes and the mutual respect and support is a core value here at Rady.

Fun fact that didn’t get included on your application? My friends have all told me I am crazy going back to school at my age … then immediately tell me how awesome they think it is an wish they would have done it! Second fun fact, as an equine orthopedic specialist who travels and consults all over the world, my wife makes me take our little French Bull dog Bubbles to another veterinarian even for vaccines!

Post-MBA career interests? Creating a biotech and medical industry consulting firm in for both the human and veterinary market.

Advice to Current Prospective Applicants

One thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process? Prepare family and work to for your new time commitments with school.

One thing you would change or do differently? More mathematics refresher preparation (Have taught but not been a student for 30 years!)

Part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it? Data analytics… fantastic professor but not my “song” ! Classmates provided excellent support and oxygen masks!

Greatest highlight so far at Rady? Being around so many truly remarkable and accomplished people in my class.

One thing about Rady that you didn’t expect? Started receiving job offers the moment I started school and my industry “heard” I was at Rady and transitioning careers.

Thing you are most anxious about in your first year? Having enough extra time to develop and prepare for my new company.

Thing you are most excited about in your first year? A new way of thinking and understanding business. I am a doctor and this is a new and exciting perspective change that I truly believe fits perfectly with my successful previous career and will launch me in to my life’s second chapter.